Outrunning an Avalanche

When bike shops are closing left, right, and centre, what's a girl to do?

Local shops are like foreign languages: if you don't use em, you lose em.

I have a Look Mum No Hands shaped hole in my heart. Clever Mikes has shut, and our local bakery Better Health has closed down as well. On the B2B side, we have lost both Moore Large and 2Pure as distributors. Last year we lost mainstays The Bicycle Academy, Isen Workshop, and the Golden Saddle Cyclery out in California.

farewell, friends…

The reactions to the closings have usually been in the range of ‘OMG I had no idea’ and ‘I wish I would have known’ or ‘we could have banded together and done something’. So rather than pretend things are hunky dory here at LBK, I’m going to be periodically sharing with you the trials and tribulations that is running a small bike workshop.

Basically, it's not nice out there. We’re currently being bounced back and forth in a game of HMRC ping pong, trying to sort out what the heck is going on with our £6600 VAT bill. Continuing the bouncing theme we also have our £33k Bounce Back Loan being lobbed towards us. The shadow of the pandemic still looms large.

We're feeling the crunch, and I'm sure you are too.

Do I know what the answer is for small biz? No. But I know that it's not a cut throat economic model that forces people to scrimp and save, that forces manufacturers to cut corners, and that keeps the retail giants in business because they can afford extortionate rents and ride the waves of downturns until they turn up again.

:(

Recently someone left us a 3 star review complaining that the DIY workshop wasn't open anymore. What they didn't understand was that the DIY space was run at a loss. We have overheads to pay. It's one of the reasons why we had a set fee to access the workshop, to make sure we could pay our rent, bills, AND workers. We have seen a SHARP increase in bills and the cost of parts over the past few years. Some parts have increased in price by 40% (freewheels I’m lookin at you 👀). Yet our labour costs have remained the same because we don't want to become unaffordable. Sometimes I wonder if it will be our undoing.

We are focusing on the repairs & servicing aspect of the business because that it what is keeping us afloat and safe/healthy. Thanks to Covid being a mighty morphing virus ranger, reopening the DIY space isn’t feasible in our smol (3m x 4m) classroom. (It’s not gone people!) Class sales have started to increase, so that is providing another buoy in choppy economic waters. But the pandemic put us in debt for the first time ever.

We were never bankrolled by the bank of mom & dad. We don't have hot VC investment. We don't apply for grants because that's another job in and of itself, which also leaves you beholden to grantmakers and 'scope creep' (not the kind with binoculars but the kind that derails a mission.)

🎶 Everything we do, we’re able to do it because of youuuuu 🎶

And the reason why we're so good at what we do is because we pay and train our workers. We are not a part of a volunteer dependent economy. Businesses, organisations, and charities that regularly rely on volunteers or underpaying their staff to exist are exploiting people's time and their lives. It is a key feature of capitalism.

We currently exist in an economy that doesn't want us to exist.

Don't get me wrong, there are situations where volunteers are a huge help: short term projects, or single events. But anything bigger or longer than that needs someone to manage it. And often in volunteer based groups, the bulk of the work falls on one or two key people, without whom everything would fall apart. Another thing I’ve seen happen is that volunteers start to resent the paid workers. There are no perfect systems, you just find the one that works for you, and deal with the consequences.

Every day we survive is a win. But it is becoming increasingly touch and go. It's probably like this for you, too.

Which is why this newsletter will always be free. I will always be sharing bike maintenance tips, tricks, insight, memes, and more, every month. The goal has been and always will be the sharing of knowledge and camaraderie. If times are tight for you, but you'd like to help us out, I know that the majority of Londoners do not know who we are. So if you love our work, if you have friends that have bikes, please tell them about us. Word of mouth is still the best form of advertising. Or write us a google review (it's the next best thing). Or just hit the ❤️  button to give me a lil dopamine (mmmmmm dopamine 🤤)

But also - I've activated paid options if you'd like to pitch in. Thank you SO MUCH to the people who have signed up since the last newsletter. You're making me excited about the possibilities of my writing. One of the key reasons why I'm enjoying this here Substack platform is that I'm finally hearing back from y'all. Previously it felt like I was typing into the void. What was the point? Weird sad feedback I got from past colleagues was something to the tune of 'you spend too much time on the newsletter'. Wah.

But I would also occasionally hear from students and customers saying 'it's the only newsletter I actually read.' I think those two ideas are not only correlated, but causated! (Is that a word?) And I know that these here words are changing hearts & minds, building skills & community, and yes - selling our classes/merch/repairs - obvs.

For those of you who become paying subscribers, we will be setting up a private Discord channel very soon: a nice and chill online space where y'all can ask questions of all 5 of us LBK mechanics, buy/sell/trade/giveaway parts & accessories, get tips/tricks/advice from us and from others, and be a part of a conscious & kind community of cyclevangelists, who only want to spread the good word and welcome new cyclists to the fold.

We are currently working out some sort of payment plan with HMRC, so it's not all bad news. But we ARE holding a fundraiser on Sunday 1 October !

BAR TAPE-A-THON

Sunday!

SUNDAY!

SUNDAY 1 OCTOBER!!!

Want some fresh bar tape and to help LBK at the same time?

We are raising money to pay for our £6600 VAT bill through 1:1 bar taping lessons!

When you arrive you’ll draw from our Lucky Dip bag of bar tape. Which colour you will get will be up to statistics! Then you’ll head off with one of the mechanics for a 30 minute lesson in professional bar taping. (Of course you can choose black if you like, but that’s an extra £12).

You will learn:

• why rotational direction matters

• how much tension to apply

• why you’re not supposed to use the entire roll

• how to ensure the tape doesn’t undo itself

• how to get that segggsy smooth finish with electrical tape

• why bar end plugs are an essential safety feature

Tickets are by donation, suggested donation £25 but please give more if you can.

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That’s all for now frens. I’m leaving for a much needed holiday tomorrow, my first of the year. I can’t wait to DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I will be practicing what I’ve learned from Kara Loewentheil. Don’t be swayed by the cheesy intro. The content is gold.

Enjoy the sun! Warm your bones! Twinkle your toes! Absorb as much D as you can!

Ride on,

Jenni x